F. Scott Fitzgerald: The novels

Fitzgerald only completed four novels during his lifetime, with his fifth and final novel The Love of the Last Tycoon only a fragment at the time of his death in 1940. The reason for the low number is neither writer's block nor laziness, but the simple economic fact that short stories earned him substantially more money than his novels. Money that he needed to maintain the luxurious lifestyle he and Zelda got used to after the runaway success of his first novel This Side of Paradise.

Fitzgerald's first novel is in many respects an autobiographical
account of the author's own life - even though Fitzgerald was only 23 at the time he wrote it. It tells the story of Amory
Blaine, a young man who seems to be unable to find his place in
the world. Fitzgerald's account of youthful
disillusionment and disorientation was an instant bestseller:
it made Fitzgerald rich and famous and enabled him to start a
professional career as a writer.

Fitzgerald's second novel is the account of hedonistic socialites
whose lives unravel as soon as the magic of young love fades away
along with her beauty and his inheritance: Anthony and Gloria
Patch are the least sympathetic of Fitzgerald's heroes. Fitzgerald
wanted to prove himself as a "serious author" and maybe drove
some of his points home with too much emphasis. Nevertheless,
the tragedy of young people who are as beautiful as intelligent,
but who lack the moral integrity to face the world as it is still rings true today.

Fitzgerald's masterpiece: The story of young parvenu Jay Gatsby
who went off to become incredibly wealthy just to impress the girl he fell in love with when he was just an ordinary soldier.
The story is told by the girl's nephew Nick Carraway who is simultaneously
attracted and repelled by beauty and the moral indifference of
his rich friends. Never before and never again was Fitzgerald's
writing so precise and so beautiful at the same time.

It took Fitzgerald nine years and many unsuccessful attempts to
finish his fourth novel. By the time it was published, America
was deep in the throes of economic depression and no one really
cared to read Fitzgerald's tales of the rich and beautiful. 'Tender is the Night'
tells the story of Dick Diver, a psychologist who marries one
of his patients, only to find that neither she nor himself are
a match for his grand illusions. Fitzgerald's saddest novel is
unrivaled in its haunting beauty.

Fitzgerald died of a heart attack at the age of 44 before he was
able to finish his last novel. Yet even the fragment that he left
is well worth reading: It tells the story of Hollywood producer
Monroe Stahr (modeled on MGM producer Irving Thalberg) who has
so far successfully balanced commerce and art, but who is now
about to fall prey to business men who don't care for his work
ethics.